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Some audience members who are interested in catching Orosman at Zafira who might be a little worried that Orosman at Zafira will be “traditional” and “classic” can rest assured that this production, while still honoring its past and origins, will be exciting and fun.

As a reviewer from the Philippine Daily Inquirer said, “This is not your great-great-grandparents’ komedya.” This particular theater form should not to be mistaken as comedy.

The Tagalog term komedya is derived fromcomedia, a Spanish generic term for drama. Komedya usually have plots about saints or warring kingdoms, and uses staging conventions like structured choreographed entrances and exits.

In this DUP production, “[The] dramaturgs [have] edited the original text, changed Baltazar’s original Turkish kingdoms to Filipino tribes, and created a narrator to help audiences along.”

While the music of a traditional komedya are usually performed by a brass band, Bello’s neo-ethnic music is rendered by a live orchestra using indigenous instruments such as djembe drums, kulintang (gong chime) and kubing (Jew’s harp), together with electric guitars and keyboards.

Santos has replaced the traditional marches with movement vocabularies inspired by the country’s regional dances.

“He marks the narrative with three impressive battle scenes that showcased a heady amalgamation of fight stances and dance. The cast charged, pounced and attacked as they twisted, glided and leapt.”

We’re sure that today’s audiences will enjoy this “modern method” of staging a komedya.